Earlier today, AJ (our Andrew Johnson) mentioned that Russian state media were blaming this mass murder in the air on the Ukrainian government. They are not the only ones, of course: Fidel Castro has done the same. To read a story about this, go here.

The Moscow-Havana alliance has been renewed, with a new pact on espionage. (Read about it here.) There is an old saw about knowing people by the company they keep (and make deals with).